Stop Global Warming | Energy [R]evolution

Avoiding the worst impacts of climate change requires a fundamental shift in the way we consume and generate energy. This shift should begin immediately and be well underway within the next ten years. The scale of the challenge requires a complete transformation of the way we produce, consume and distribute energy. Fortunately, we can meet this challenge while giving a boost to the economy, energy sector employment and energy security.

The Science

Climate change is a reality. Today, our world is hotter than it has been in two thousand years, and we are experiencing faster sea level rise and more extreme weather than scientists had previously predicted. By the end of the century, if current trends continue, the global temperature will likely climb higher than at any time in the past two million years. Read more.

The Problem: Fossil Fuels

It's not hard to see the result of our reliance on fossil fuels. The full impact of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster may take a generation to reveal itself, but already hundreds of species of marine life have been affected, as have the communities that rely on the Gulf. Around the country, communities face devastating levels of water and air pollution as a result of coal burning power plants, which produce millions of tons of toxic sludge and smoke each year.

Fossil fuels also account for more than 80 percent of US global warming pollution. Global warming, if unchecked, threatens to fundamentally change the planet that has sustained our civilization. In the US, we’re already seeing some of the effects—wildfires tearing through western states, devastating floods in the southeast, and historic droughts in the midwest. Read more.

The Solutions: An Energy [R]evolution

With current technology, renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and geothermal can provide 96% of our electricity and 98% of our total heating demand — accounting for almost all of our primary energy demand.

Investing in renewables could jumpstart our flagging economy, creating millions of jobs that can’t be shipped overseas. It could put the US back at the forefront of the 21st century economy, in front of China, which in 2009 became the largest global investor in renewables. Read more.

The Roadblocks

In addition to advocating for solutions to global warming and climate change, we are doing our part to call out the work being done — often secretively — to block climate regulations and policies that would kickstart the clean energy revolution.

Below are a few of the projects and resources we've created to try and remove roadblocks to progress on stopping global warming. Read more.

Working globally

Climate change and global warming are a priority issue for us here at Greenpeace. We realized years ago that it has the potential to wipe out most of the gains the environmental movement has made in other areas. Disruptions to ecosystems will likely harm everything from minke whales to coral reefs to polar bears. Whole forests will be lost, and hundreds of thousands of species will become extinct. Read more.

The latest updates

The eleven climate activists who made history when they pulled off a banner hang at Mount Rushmore last July appeared in court today for sentencing . They all pled guilty to the charge of "Climbing Mount Rushmore" and received a...

One of the many advantages of being a Greenpeace Field Organizer for Northern California is the incredibly diverse region I am responsible for. Not only do I get to work out of the sweet San Francisco office, but I get to travel from...

Anne Mulkern wrote an interesting article in today's New York Times/Greenwire about Big Oil's efforts to greenwash their dirty image with misleading advertisements. As the article details, giant oil companies like BP, Shell,...

Was Copenhagen historic or a failure (or both)? To discern the value of the Copenhagen deal through the din of spin, look no further than the 9% drop in the European carbon market on Monday, where confidence vanished following...

The brave activists who crashed the Danish Queen's dinner for Heads of State last week in Copenhagen are being held for three weeks, according to the last report I heard. They managed to gain entry to the dinner and held up two...

Media Contacts

Joe Smyth (Washington, DC)

831-566-5647

Want to learn more about tax-deductible giving, donating stock and estate planning? Visit Greenpeace Fund, a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) charitable entity created to increase public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through research, the media and educational programs.